The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1887-05-21
STRANGE cuRIos.
a Doctors Experience with south Amer
can Aen and Animals.

1nett ~ org room or two up nj
Columbia College. in which ar. spread
abroad more wonders than were eve,
lreamt of in Horatio's philosophy.
Birds, beasts, fishes, plants of strange
nature. Indian relics and all manner
ef South American wonders are here,
the prizes captured In n two years
struggle with danger and suffering by
an American scientific investigator.
The owner of these treasures Is Dr.
sIenry IL Rosby, Of Detroit who,
January 10, 1885. left New York for a
tour through Chilli and Bolivia In the
,ope of discovering amid the fauna aud
lora Of the Andes and the Amazon
.ome valuable additions To the medi-
sinai riches of the American pharma-
'opoeia.
Dir Roshy's adventures were many
aud interesting. He met the sorocho
in its native lair. did battle with the
Caripuna Indians and the man-eaiing
fish and alligatois of the Beni river
hroiled in the stenches of La Paz the
tilthiest city this side of Constantinople,
took his daily 4, ses of qunine like a
little man. and saw the place where
live million cinchona trees are growing.
the source from which all the calisaya
cocktails of the future must come.
From all this he came out much the
verse for wear but still full of enthu-
siasm, and confident that out of the
three hundred native drugs he had ex-
amined. two or three would prove SUI
perior to the similar remedies now
known TO the medical profession.
DIR. Rosby intended To land at Mallen-
do and go direct TO Bolivia. but the Pc
ruvian war prevented. General Caceras
was making things lively for the au-
thorities. So he was obliged 10 travel
by mule from Taema to La Paz. sew
en-days' journey. going from africa to
Facma by rail- tough Journey across
desert, without the shade of spear
= grass To relieve the monoteny.
The whole country of africa and
Facma has been captured BY the Chi
ians. said the doctor. 1t is to be kept
Tor ten years At the end of that time
the inhabitants will vote whether to re-
main IN Chilli or 20 back to Peru The
country which gets them must pay
sl0,000.o00 for the prize. Mean
while Chilli is doing every thing
possible % make things pleasant
for the people with music and
games. The Chillians' present pnr-
pose is 10 have "A United States of
South America, capturing the other
countries little hy little. and gradually
adding TO their strength and wealth.
They are b'ood-thirsty people, loving
war, and extremely brutal in carving
il on. They murder men, women and
children with impartial crnelty. rip
ping them open with big knives
Our journey from Tacma was one of
terrible suffering. II was upon A
high table-land. reaching an elevation
of l6. 800 feet, and for five days We
iourneyed nj an elevation Of i4.5oO
feet The air was 30 raref;ed that we
suffered much from sorocho, the chief
-vmptoms of which We're diff
Guilty in breathing. Frustrating
weakness and bleeding al
he nose and ears We passed the
beautifM volcano of Tacosa, which dis
,hargss across the road a river. the wa
er of which Is fatal 10 human life.
Wen often commit suici lie on he table |
and; they suffer s. much from sorncbo.
There is also great danger from light |
ling. which is frequent and violent
At one time thre members of patty.
in which | was, were prostrated by |
lightning, and a fourth was stricken |
,lind for eleven days. The wind Is so |
'iolent here that trees can not grow.
md the vegetation is mat-like. closely |
lugging the ground
DIR. Rosby crossed the Andes with |
much tribulation. and went to work
among the valleys Of the eastern slope.
lie advises investors to keep away
rom the old Spanish sill
'er mines. and says that
ny belief that they were crudelv work
d is a mistake. The SpaniaIJis did
ot leave.much mineral richness be-
lind in their mines. I'm Bolivia he
aid, "half the silver is counterfeit. A
onsul, who had grown tired of max
ng coin sold his conterfeiting ma
hine to one of our party"
Among the wonders which the doctor
net was a half-pound fish, so sensitive
hat it attacked any thing which
aused commotion in the water, and
o fierce that it would kill )rse or man
] crossing a stream one h lndred feer
ride. He found tribe of Indians so
irtuous that they tied tn. faithful
} ant-trees, and the little insects would
at them alive. stripping the bones in
IS than twenty-four hours. In brief.
e had great time.-N J. Wor.d.